


Lost in the Past

by Nigihayami_Kohakunushi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fred Weasley Lives, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Slow Build, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-18 12:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17580575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigihayami_Kohakunushi/pseuds/Nigihayami_Kohakunushi
Summary: The war is over and Harry is going back to Hogwarts for his eighth year. He wondered once again why he was nearly sorted into Slytherin all these years ago, and if he would be in the same spot now, as Voldemorts Soul is no longer a part of him.At the sorting ceremony, every student is offered a resorting, due to the events of the war and Harry's plan doesn't quite go as well as he wished.The Fanfiction is mostly compliant with canon, but I am still living in denial about Fred's death, so he will be pretty much alive in here :D





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there :3  
> This is basically my first fanfiction, so please bear with me :D  
> Also my native language isn't English, but I'm trying to keep it as mistake-free as possible :)

Harry felt rather queasy going to Diagon, being the first time out of Grimmauld Place in a couple of weeks. He hadn't set a foot out of the house since June, ever since that day he went out with Ron and Hermione to get some shopping done and they found themselves surrounded by a mob of journalists and photographers.  
He flooed to the Burrow a couple of times afterwards, but wasn't quite ready to spend so much time around other people, even if it was his best friends, so most of the time he stayed in Grimmauld Place, trying to whip it into shape while having basically all his meals owled in. People can't talk to you if you don't leave the house.

It was the 31st of August, though, and he had tried to get the school shopping out of his mind for long enough, but given the fact that he had to have his shit packed up in 20 hours gave him at least a little motivation to finally leave the house.  
The only place he needed to go to was Madam Malkins, anway, so he hoped he could just jump in, get his robes and jump out without people noticing him. His new books have just been owled a few days ago, so at least he didn't have to bother about that part anymore. When his letter arrived, he had hoped he had everything for his final year, but for whatever reason, students year five and up where supposed to bring formal attire this year, and he desperately tried to squeeze himself into his fourth year dress robe but was immediately disappointed and wondered how ridiculously tiny he must have been four years ago.

He cast a glamour over his scar, pulled a cap out of his closet and apparated directly into a small alley next to Madam Malkins.  
Looking around the corner, he decided he could make it for the front door without any encounters and went for it, shutting the door behind him quickly.

"Hogwarts, dear?"

Harry just nodded, looking around the shop and seeing Malfoy in the back of the shop being fitted into his dress robes.  
Wonderful. Of course he was lucky enough to run into Malfoy of all people. It was the last day before school, couldn’t he get his shit earlier? Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath and walked closer to the back. It had been over a month since he had seen him last, being an attestor at Malfoy's trial in front of the Wizengamot.  
He tried to vouch for him, taking into consideration that the git saved his life that day back in the Manor. He couldn't quite be sure but simply knew that Malfoy had lied to save Harry's arse. Then again, he also saved Malfoy from the Room of Requirements, so the were basically even, but still.  
Harry shuddered thinking about Crabbe's screams while the fiendfyre was burning him alive.

"Dear? Are you alright?“

Harry looked down at Madam Malkins, who gave him a worried look, and nodded fragmantally.  
Too many people died in the war, but he had spent the last two months thinking about basically nothing else, so he didn't want to go there now, not with Malfoy in the same room.

"I'll just finish the robes of this young man over here and be right back with you. Which year are you in, dear?"

"Eighth."

Madam Malkins just nodded and rushed back to Malfoy, who was holding his arms out for at least the last two minutes.  
He was rather happy that she didn't seem to recognize him, not solely for the fact that he wasn't too eager about being recognized lately, but because the last time he was in her shop he had nearly had caused a duel between him and a Death Eater. Then again, the Death Eater was in here and she either didn’t remember him or didn’t care.

Harry went further into the back of the shop, reminding himself that he wanted to be rather civil with Malfoy. After the trial they even managed to have a rather normal conversation, as Harry decided Malfoy could finally use his wand back. A few hours later, his father stood trial, but no Harry could help him out of Azkaban, and he was rather glad that he didn’t have to talk to Malfoy afterwards anymore. Harry did try to get Lucius Malfoy a milder punishment, like community work or some sort of house detention, but there was nothing he could do. The reason why he tried to vouch for Malfoy’s father was beyond him, but he just convinced himself it was because he wouldn’t wish on anybodys father to be sent to Azkaban or the more or less life debt he is owing Malfoy and his mother, who at least got the house detention and comunity work and no one-way trip to Azkaban.

Malfoy looked at him with an expression he couldn’t quite grasp, while Madam Malkins pinned down the hem of his sleeve.

“Hogwarts, too?”, he said, and Harry was sure the corner of his mouth twitched a little bit afterwards.

Harry just stared at him, rather bewildered. What the heck was he on about? Sure, he was glad he didn’t jinx him or whatever, but.. what?  
Then it dawned on him. He didn’t recognize who he was with the scar glamoured and his old ruggy cap on, even though it would be rather weird asking a grown-up man if he was also going to Hogwarts when they basically knew most people in the castle, at least by looks.  
Malfoy’s face hardened a bit and he looked like he wanted to say something, but Madam Malkins stepped down from her little stool. 

“You’re all set, dear.”

Malfoy nodded and mumbled a ‘thank you’, rushing past Harry to the front to pay.

“Nice hat, Potter. Put it back to the trash bag you stole it from, yes?”

Harry turned around and watched Malfoy putting some coins on the counter and leaving the store. He was too confused to care about the insult or the fact that Madam Malkins was waiting for him on her little stool. So Malfoy did know it was him, what was that bloody comment about?

“Shall we get started, dear?”

Harry just nodded and walked over to the little stool where Madam Malkins stood on and started to put a robe over his head, pinning down the hems.  
Something felt rather odd about that stupid comment, even rather familiar but he couldn’t quite pin it down.

_________________________________________

 

He also put some money on Madam Malkins counter, grabbing his Hogwarts letter and double checking if he didn’t forget anything before for some reason he had to make a last minute-apparition back tonight.  
He scanned the letter stopping at the bottom of the list.  
'Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.’  
A small knot formed inside his chest and he swallowed hard.  
He still didn’t quite get over Hedwig’s death and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to have another pet so soon. Hermione told him it would be good for him to have some company while at Grimmauld Place, but then again, he would only be there for another few hours and didn’t need much company anymore.  
He sighed a little.  
Oh well, a quick look will probably not kill him, and it’s not far to the Magical Menagerie, so he hoped nobody would see him.

Harry got into the shop and looked around, automatically shifting his view to the Owl section. His heart dropped a little and he decided that he wouldn’t be ready for another Owl just yet, however useful they were.  
He felt a little tugging at the hem of his pants and saw a light grey kneazle nudging his leg before it turned around in a circle and looked at him expectantly.  
Harry gave it a vague smile, turned around and made his way through the adjacent isles. He stopped at the cat section and looked around a bit, the kneazle, apparently following him, nudging at his leg again.

“Really? You like me, don’t you?”

Or you do this with anyone, it’s not like anyone want to be kept behind bars, right? Why was the kneazle running around here anyway, any other cat was in some sort of cage.  
He heard a small purr and decided to pick the kneazle up to get a better view at it. It as rather fluffy, its fur shimmering in a light purple, but that was now what cought Harry’s attention. Staring at the kneazle’s face, he was rather astonished by it’s eyes. One was light blue, pretty much like a nice summer sky, the other was bright orange.  
Holy crap.  
He knew that cats could have two different eye colors, and it also could appear rather often, but he didn’t know it could be so pretty.

“How come no one ever took you?”, he whispered to the kneazle, but got startled when a man behind him answered that question.

“You know how kneazles have rather astonishing powers when it comes to warding? Not that he doesn’t have any skills, but they are certainly not as distinct as with the other ones.”

The kneazle made a face as if he wanted to tell the man he can just fuck and growled a little.

“I’ll take him”

“Are you sure, sir? Kneazles aren’t any good for anything if not for guarding.”

“If people continuously told me I suck at what I’m doing, I don’t think I would be any good either, I am pretty sure Mr. Flufferson agrees on that, right?”

He was rather angry now, he didn’t quite grasp why but felt oddly reminded of his childhood.

The man just stared at him.

“Mister.. Mister Flufferson?”

Harry blushed a little bit and tried to figure out if he went completely mental now or if the kneazle was stealing the tiny little bit of sanity that was left in him, but the he now looked up at him with big eyes, and Harry didn’t feel like caring too much about his sudden splurge of cuteness. Maybe he hung out too much with Ginny and her pygmy puffs in the past.

“Well, the kneazle doesn’t seem to mind, so I reckon I don’t either. I’ll take him, please also pack in some toys, food and whatever else I am needing.”

“Very well, sir.”

The man stormed off into the next isle to grab some stuff for his new kneazle while Harry carried his new friend to the counter.  
Out of the shop, he apparated immediately back to Grimmauld Place, hurried in and put his stuff on the nearest table. 

“You know, you don’t need to take that name, I don’t know what I was thinking. We can think of a nicer name, if you want.”

Harry smiled almost apologetically at his new pet but he just nudged his leg again.

“So you do like it, don't you?” Harry sighed. “Let me at least call you Fluffy, I believe people will put me into St. Mungos right away if they ever hear your name.”

Harry grabbed Fluffy by the belly and carried him to his bed, putting him softly down and throwing himself onto the covers before he was walked over by kneazle paws.  
He thought back about the encounter at Madam Malkins, with Malfoys weird comment. It was oddly familiar, like a Déjà-vu, but he couldn’t pin where it came from.  
He petted Fluffy for a while, who nuzzled into Harrys side now, before bolting up, the kneazle screaking a little at the sudden movement.

“It was the same as back then, for fucks sake.”

Harry remembered the first time he met Malfoy, all these years back when he went to Diagon with Hagrid for the first time. Malfoy was also in the shop getting fitted and then kept brabbling about brooms and magic and Harry felt completely swamped back then.  
It must have been a coincidence though, there is no reason for Malfoy to even remember that conversation. He hated him all those years, he wasn’t even sure if he recognized him back then, Harry can’t remember ever telling him his name then.

He wondered what would have happened if he befriended Malfoy back then in the shop instead of Ron later on the train. Malfoy acted like a total prick, but what if he would have been a little bit nicer? Would he have told the sorting hat he didn’t want to go to Slytherin? It was mostly Malfoy who influenced that decision. It also wasn’t the first time Harry wondered what would have happened if he didn’t have a choice in his house or didn’t have such a bad first impression of Slytherin in the first place. Would he have been a better Slytherin? The first time he wondered about that in second grade after he realized he spoke Parseltongue, the last time a few months back when he figured out that Voldemort had left him a little souvenir when he tried to kill him. Was that the only reason the sorting hat wanted to put him in Slytherin? It must have been Voldemorts Horcrux in him that made the hat see that. It must have been, but even if he wondered about that every now and then there would be no way to figure it out, besides getting into the Headmistress’ office and putting the hat on, was there?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo guys :)  
> I hope I can keep up posting often, I am writing my Master's Thesis until May and actually need to write about ions in plasma sources instead *shrug*  
> I try to do my best, though :)

Harry was resting on the table in front of him, his head on crossed arms, watching the Slytherin table while McGonnagal was brabbling about staying away from the forbidden forest and the duty to make amends with their enemies in other houses and blah blah blah. The first years had been sorted and he was basically just waiting for the feast to start, his stomach rumbling a little.  
He stared at Malfoy, who was talking to Theodore Nott beside him.

"Harry, don't you think you have obsessed over Malfoy long enough the last time we were here? For fucks sake, please don't start again."

"I was right though, wasn't I? All the times I thought he was up to something?"

Harry looked at him with raised eyebrows, Ron just shrugged.

"I guess you're right."

"...and in addition, I do have an important announcement to make. As you all know, four years ago we hosted the last Triwizard Tournament."

The hall instantly started getting loud, and suddenly a lot more students seemed to be interested in McGonnagal's speech.

"You know there will be no further Triwizard Tournaments in the future, the Ministry made that clear, due to the tragic circumstances during the last tournament. However, we will be inviting our fellow students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons for the last weeks before the Christmas holidays. They will stay with us for two weeks, and if they wish, also for the holidays. It is important to unite the wizarding communities after the war once again and..."

Of course. That's where the dress robes were for. They had another Yule ball, at least this time he didn't have to find someone to dance with and could probably just sit in a corner somewhere without feeling too bad. The thought of him dancing again made him cringe.

"Besides that, I have another announcement to make. A lot of things have happened over the last years, and thus many loyalties might have shifted, especially for the higher year's students. Thus, I will offer you a chance to make new friendships that might have been lost in the past, get closer to loved ones or simply have a fresh start after this horrible war, and let the hat sort you a second time. So whoever might have the wish to get resorted, please come up front."

A murmur went through the hall, people shifting rather uncomfortable.

Harrys heart suddenly beat a little faster. It was as if somebody had read his mind yesterday, giving him a chance to reconsider what he wanted.

"I wouldn't wonder if all the Slytherins are trying to piss off. I'd rather eat a blast-ended skrewt than be there. "

Harry would definitely rather be in Slytherin than eat any blast-ended skrewts, but what exactly did he want? He just wanted to have a normal last year at Hogwarts with his friends, but what was normal anway after that war? And who said he would be put into another house at all? For all he knew the Slytherin part in him was gone and he would be sent straight back to Gryffindor.

Some people have made their way up to the front, getting into a line to put on the hat once again, but he couldn't make out more than Parvati, it was only a dozen students overall, and most were from sixth and seventh year.

His gaze shifted to the Slytherin table looking over at Malfoy again, who was in a pretty heated talk with Nott, Malfoy looked like he would flip the table over at any instance, and suddenly Zabini got up and walked to the front, earning him a what-the-fuck-look from most other Slytherins around him.

What if he hadn't declined Malfoy's hand back then when he came to Hogwarts? What if he never came to the conclusion he didn't want to end up in Slytherin? What would have happened? He wouldn't have ended up with his friends - or would he? He was friends with Ron from the beginning, would they have remained friends? Or would Neville or Dean be next to Ron now?

The sorting went on, Parvati got sorted into Ravenclaw and hopped down happily to her sister at one of the middle tables.

There was a war going on in Harry's head, still looking over at the Slytherin table, where Malfoy had his hands pressed as if he was pushing himself to stand up raising his body. He wasn't quite sure why the heck Malfoy would try to get out of his house, but if Malfoy could get up the courage to be resorted, Harry could at least give himself the chance to see if the sorting hat would still see him fit in Slytherin. He honestly doubted it, but he had gotten the chance and wouldn't turn it down to wonder again for another seven years. And if the hat still thought there was some Slytherin traits left in him, he would just tell him to send him back to Gryffindor instead. It was a pretty foolproof plan.

He closed his eyes, when he opened them again, Malfoy stood up, and so did Harry, breathing in deeply and making his way to the front. The whole hall fell silent, the little murmurs were gone, just like the cheers from the tables for their newly sorted students, he could feel people staring at him. Nobody seemed to care what was happening, besides their oh-so-wonderful savior marching down the hall to his doom. Nobody even cared for Zabini to be sorted into Gryffindor, standing up but looking rather gobsmacked at him while he moved up the stairs to the podium.

"Harry, what the actual fuck."

Rons voice boomed through the hall, being basically the only noise that had been made in the last five seconds, McGonnagal didn't even care to remind him of his language.

When Harry reached the stool, he gulped and looked at her to recieve the hat, but she didn't look any less gobsmacked than Zabini.

"Are you sure about this, Potter?"

Harry just nodded and sat on top of the stool, pinching his eyes together, to not have see the whole hall stare back at him.

"Still some bees in your bonnet, eh, Potter?"

He twitched a little bit when the hat finally rested on his head.

"Eh, yes."

He felt horrendously reminded of the encounter with the sorting head in his second year and began to wonder why he was up here.

"Are you still wondering why I didn't put you in Slytherin all these years ago? I stand my point, you would have achieved greatness in Slytherin, no doubt."

Harry heart sank a little.

"So you would still put me into Slytherin? There is still enough Slytherin in me to sort me there over Gryffindor? I thought... Well, I -"

"You thought I would have sorted you due to the piece of soul that clutched onto you. Potter, I know what you are thinking right now, don't be so surprised. It was never that piece that I considered in the first place.   
It was your traits and values and feelings I considered. I still believe you will do wonderful in Slytherin."

Will. Do. What-

That was the time for his plan, he just had to say it.

"But I-" 

"Potter, you are asking me the second time if I made the right decisions, and I have been telling you that I still see you in Slytherin. If I let you go to Gryffindor again, will you be back in the Headmistress' office and ask me why on earth I thought this would be wise?"

Harry wasn't sure this was going to plan, but he did wonder if he would be asking himself the same questions again that have been following him for seven years now.

The hall was still silent, he must have sat there for a few minutes now, and nothing happened. He was tempted to take a look, but wasn't quite ready to see all the faces in the Great Hall staring at him. Then again, how Gryffindor was that of him...

"You have come to me three times now, and don't tell me there is no reason for that, Potter. I am in your mind, I know there is."

He had a point though, hadn't he.

"You came to me for a chance to see, and I will give that to you. You will be doing wonderful in Slytherin."

The sorting hat said the last word out loud, and the silence was now accompanied with gobsmacked faces.  
So much for his foolproof plan.  
What the actual fuck did he think he was doing? Maybe if he asked McGonagall later that everything was a huge mistake, they will put him back.  
He took the hat off and started to walk down to the Gryffindor table just to realize he moved the wrong way and turned around mid-walk.  
Ron and Hermione looked at him like he just ate twenty blast-ended skrewts, with some sort of utter disbelief and confusion, Malfoy looked like he took a bat over the head and, for some fucking reason Nott looked like Christmas and Easter fell on the same date.  
Harry went over to the last table in the hall, wondering where the hell he should sit, when Nott suddenly waved at him.

"Sit with us, Harry!"

Harry. He wasn't ready for any Harrys from any Slytherins. He wondered if he would ever be.   
He didn't want to sit at the front of the table though, and nobody seemed to make some room for him, so he made his way over to the other eighth years.  
Nott smiled at him and moved a little so he could sit between him, Millicent Bulstrode, and, of course as he must have fallen into some bad-luck potion today, opposite to Malfoy.  
It was his own fucking fault though, wasn't it. Maybe if he just concentrated hard enough he would wake up, cuddling in his bed with Fluffy.

"So Potter, why do you honor us with your attention. Don't like Gryffindor anymore? Or just fed up from all the red everywhere, I heard your common room's like a red pillow castle."

Harry didn't know what to say. He probably never said a word to Nott in all his past seven years of attending this school.  
Lucky enough, the sorting was over, and the tables filled with food, so he could pretend he was eating and not able to join any conversations.

"At least it's not gonna be so empty in the dorm. I wonder what happened to Blaise, but he hasn't talked to us most of seventh year and tried to stay as neutral as possible, so he probably just wanted to start over."

Harry looked around, but realized that some of the Slytherins were missing.

"Pansy and Greg started in Durmstrang for their last year. I didn't even realize that was an option to just switch schools for the last bit, but I wouldn't have left Draco alone here, and he doesn't leave his mother alone. Greg wanted to start over after the war with him being a death eater and all. Pansy and him were always really close so she just joined him. That leaves Milli with Daphne here alone in the dorms. Then again, it's only Draco, you and me. Not a lot of people made it back here, I suppose."

Only Malfoy, Nott and him. At least he could probably just sit in a corner and do something alone without talking to anyone. Nott did seem like he drank too much brabbling water earlier, though.

He wondered what Ron and Hermione were up to, but didn't dare to actually look around. They were probably really mad at him, but why wouldn't they be? Harry just let his head fall to the table. Maybe it was just some weird dream. He still didn't wake up, though.

"C'mon Potter, we're not so bad. I still don't quite get why the heck you're here, but whatever, right Draco?"

Malfoy had basically ignored him for the time he sat there and he didn't seem to consider changing that any time soon.  
Harry just laid there a bit, when the feast was finally dismissed and people could go to their common rooms.  
He got up and stormed out of the hall, just to be caught on the shoulder by Ron in a corridor outside.

"What the fuck, mate. What was that about? Are you mental? Did you get hexed? Maybe we can go see McGonagall and tell her it all had been a big mistake and-"

"Ron. I'm sorry. I know it sounds like I went bonkers, but for a moment I thought it was the best idea, I-"

"See, you must have been hexed, we just go and let you get checked."

He urged him to go up the stairs to the hospital wing.

"I don't think I was hexed, I-"

Hermione finally said something, too.

"Well, hexed people wouldn't admit they were hexed, you know."

Harry shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He never told them he was almost sorted in Slytherin, it was just never the right time, with the war being around and basically all Slytherin being on the other side of it, and, well, what good would it have done?

They were standing in a side corridor, while the stundets rushed out of the great hall, nobody would probably see them here.

"Look. That's not what I meant. I have been thinking about that for quite a while, and- Ron, please let me talk. I thought about it every now and then for pretty much the time being here. You know, I- I never told you that, don't feel bad about it, it just never seemed to fit. When we were first being sorted, I was... well, I was nearly put into Slytherin. I had to tell the hat a few times that I didn't want to go there. If I hadn't met Ron on the train, or if Malfoy hadn't been such a prick back then, I might have never ended up with you. I thought it was only Voldemorts Horcrux that made me so much Slytherin, and I just wanted to figure it out and if it went wrong just go back to Gryffindor immediately, he did let me choose the first time, right? But he said I came up to him so often that he didn't want me to question what would have happened anymore and just.. well he just put me there and I couldn't even argue. I don't know."

He pressed his hands onto his eyes and wanted to apologize, but Hermione hugged him before he could do much.

"Harry, you could have told us. You know we would have been there if it bothered you so much."

He looked back and forth from Ron to Hermione. They didn't make a fuss about it, and were just there for him, like always basically. How could he have thought they would care so much. They probably weren't all that happy, but they were there, even if they didn't sleep in the same part of the castle.

"You know-"

Around the corner they heard some noise and shuffling of robes, maybe some of the students were just headed to the wrong corridor, it didn't matter much now anyway.

"For fucks sake, you don't have to- Wait."

Harry turned around and sprinted around the corner.

"NOTT! What the actual fuck are you doing here."

Nott, who hurried down the corridor now stopped mid-walk and turned around.

"Potter. I- eh, I just came here to, ehrm. I was looking for Draco."

As if.

"How much did you hear?"

Nott stared back at him, gulping, but Harry knew it was too much before he even said anything.

"Wonderful. Why the fuck were you even here?"

He shuffled uncormfortable.

"You just ran off, and I thought it would be a nice thing if we'd follow you and take you back to the common room and-"

"We? You followed me with Malfoy and sneaked up on our conversation? He heard, didn't he?"

"Yes, so-"

"Oh for fucks sake."

Harry just stormed off, feeling a little guilty for leaving Ron and Hermione alone. He was halfway up the first staircase when he realized he had to go down to the dungeons instead.

He turned around, ran down the stairs past Nott and to the Common Room.

"Potter, wait. You don't even know where you have to go."

"Fuck off, Nott."

Of course he knew where to go, he's been in their common room, not that anyone knew, but right now he had other things to worry about. It took him seven years to tell his best friends about how much that sorting bothered him, of course Malfoy must have heard it in the same moment. At least he could just shut himself into his bed and ignore other people for the rest of the night. He was already pretty tired, so going to bed didn't seem like such a bad idea at all.  
He ran down the corridor, turned around the corner and stopped before a stone wall.

"Centaur", he panted, and the stone wall opened.

He went into the common room, which, unsurprisingly still looked the same as in second year, and sprinted directly for the opposite door, not caring about the Slytherins staring at him. He went through the dormitory door and saw Fluffy on the bed against the back wall. The bed on the left was already in curtains, which probably was Malfoy's then.   
He got onto the bed, closed his own curtains and locked them, just before Nott came into the dorm.

"Potter, what the fuck."

Harry rolled his eyes and thought about just silencing his bed area. He wasn't really up to any weird problem talk.

"How the fuck did you know where the common room is? The brick wall looks just like the rest of the dungeon, I can't remember anyone telling you at the table."

Suddenly, Malfoy spoke.

"Potter, what is wrong with you? First you decide to move your ass out of your own house to end up with us, then you decide to casually drop that you were ment to be here all along and then go all Hufflepuff on us and actually find the right piece of wall? What is this shit, I thought things would-"

"Casually dropping? I can casually drop your ass out of the window if you don't shut up. You basically stalked me and decided it would be a wonderful idea to sneak up on me talking to my friends. It's not my fault you heard something you didn't want. So just shut up."

There was a moment of silence and Harry thought they'd given up, but Nott seemed too fond of hearing his own voice.

"How did you find it though. I'll leave you alone if you tell me. I know you couldn't know it."

"Nott, just fuck off."

Maybe one day he will just casually drop that he knocked their friends out in second year, brewing Polyjuice potion, sneaking into the common room for information, but only if he could see their gobsmacked faces for it.  
Maybe he had a little bit more Slytherin in him than he previously thought.  
Harry took his wand and cast a quick silencing charm around the bed, cuddling up with Fluffy before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning came, he hadn't slept all that well, nightmares from the war hanging around most nights. Harry felt rather uncomfortable with all the green around, but the feeling suddenly left when he saw the sun shine through the lake into the dorm windows. It was beautiful how the light was flickering throught the glass.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Harry twitched a little and turned around, he’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone in the room.  
Nott came through the dorm window dressed up with a towel and ruffled another on through his hair.

Harry thought that he was rather good looking but pushed the thought aside before it was completely thought.

"I bet you don't get to see that in your dorm, huh?"

Harry just shrugged.

"We have a pretty nice view, being so far up in the castle, but this is... different. I like it, though."

He looked over to Malfoy’s bed to check if he could be ambushed with questions any second but the bed was empty.

“He usually leaves early to have breakfast. Give him a chance, though, he’ll get around.”

Harry stared at him with raised eyebrows.

“He’ll get around? He’s been treating me like shit the last seven years, how much time does he need? Shall I ask again when I’m retired?”

Nott looked pretty defeated.

“Just give him a chance, please. We’re all Slytherins now, you know, we stick together.”

“I’d rather stick to a chewing gum than Malfoy.”

“Chewing gum?”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“Forget it. Thing is, I put myself in a hell of a situation, I know it is my fault, but don’t expect me to do anything before I figured out what I’m doing myself, okay? We have never talked, and to be honest you don’t seem like that shit of a person, but please just let me be for a while.”

Nott just nodded and Harry went out of the door to take a shower.

When he got out, he went to the Great Hall immediately and decided to sit at his old table for breakfast next to his friends.

“Morning.”, he said while sitting down next to Ron.

"Morning. So, how is your snake butt today."

"Ron!", Hermione exclaimed.

“Seriously, I don’t mind, 'Mione. I put myself in that misery, didn’t I? You don’t seem mad, though. I mean I left you there yesterday and just stormed off.”

“It’s fine, Harry. I know this isn’t easy for you.”, Hermione said.

“So. How did Malfoy take it?”

Ron was putting some more toast into his mouth, even though Harry wasn’t sure there was more room for toast.

“Well, I basically ran off to the common room and got myself in there, Malfoy was already in his bed and I went into mine and shut the curtains, when Nott came in and, well, I haven’t thought about it much that I shouldn’t know where the common room even was, but there I was. So Malfoy was pretty freaked I believe.”

Ron just chuckled with all the toast in his mouth.

“So, how's the common room. Changed much?”

“Nah, not really. I haven’t looked around that much, but it didn’t seem like it."

McGonnagal came around with the time tables this morning and raised her eyebrows when she handed one to Harry, but said nothing.

“Oh god, we have double potions later. And tomorrow.”, Ron complained.

Harry took a look at his time table and at Ron’s and they were pretty identical.

Hermione’s varied, as she had a few extra courses, but besides that they would be in the same classes.

Harry realized that they probably wouldn’t sit together anymore, would they. He always sat with Ron, but would he sit with Hermione this year, taking into account that they’re dating and all?

Harry ate the rest of his toast and sausages, and realized he’d forgotten to give Fluffy his food.

“I’ll be right back for potions. I need to feed Fluffy.”

“I still can’t quite grasp how you would name your pet after the first thing that nearly killed us here. Then again, what a nice way to remember all the near-death experiences at school. Well, it could have been worse. We could have been expelled.”

Ron tried to eat his bacon but had Hermione’s elbow in his side.

“Ow!”

“Oh, you know you deserved that one.”, she said, but was smiling nevertheless.

Harry got up and hurried down to the dungeons. He didn’t have much time until class started. He was greatful that the common room was mostly empty and he was alone in the dorms.

“I’m sorry fluffy. I never needed to feed Hedwig much, she just went out and got herself some food. I’ll remember from now on, alright?”

He gave his kneazle an apologetic look, Fluffy just cuddled into his lap.

“I need to go, buddy, I’ll be late for class. I’ll be back later, then we can cuddle, right?”

Harry laid Fluffy onto his bed and hurried to the potions classroom. The way wasn’t really that far anymore but he was already running late, he hoped that Slughorn wouldn’t mind much.

He opened the classroom door and hurried inside.

“Harry, you’re late. Just sit down so we can start.”

Good thing, he apparently didn’t mind much. Maybe it was being Harry, maybe it was being the newest member of Slughorns house. Bad thing, though, the only free seat was next to Malfoy, because for some reason him and Nott didn’t sit together, as he sat next to Zabini. Maybe Zabini had the same issues as Harry and rather sat with people from the old than from the new house. Now that he thought about it he couldn’t remember seeing Zabini at the Gryffindor table this morning. He didn’t have much choice, thought so he sat down next to Malfoy.

“I welcome you back to your last year at Hogwarts. Now, as last year’s circumstances were a little bit difficult, I will prepare you to take your N.E.W.Ts this year. How for that you will have to brew these potions here.”

He pointed to three cauldrons on the table next to him.

“We’ve already discussed this in your sixth year, but I will just repeat them for you. These are Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion and Amortentia. To get started, we will brew the Polyjuice Potion first. You will do the brewing today, but it needs to be taken from the heat in 24 hours, which you will do tomorrow and then we will talk about the results, too.”

Now Harry wished he was in a group with Hermione. They already brewed that potion years ago, but he hardly remembered anything and then again he sucked at potions anyway.

“Now this is a very complicated potion and it is no shame if you will not get it right on the first try. We will try again later this semester.”

Harry shot a look at Hermione, who grinned knowingly. She was able to brew this perfectly in her second year, which just proves how good she was with magic.

“Now, Potter, I really don’t want to do this with you, and I suppose you won’t be much help, so just get the ingredients, will you.”

“Oh, shut up Malfoy.”

Nevertheless, he got up and picked out the ingredients from the storage. He wasn’t much help, Malfoy had a point, but at least he had to suffer Harry’s incompetence in Potions, too. Malfoy was pretty good in potions, so Harry would probably get a good grade for doing nothing, which sounded fine.

They spend the rest of the double lesson brewing the potion and it already started to be really thick, muddy and odd-smelling.

Malfoy wrinkled his nose.

“I wonder how this tastes, it looks pretty nasty.”

“Oh, it’s pretty disgusting, I nearly threw up the first time-”

He realized that he should neither tell Malfoy about his little trip to the dungeons in second year nor the undercover mission to the ministry last year.

They finished the rest of the class in silence and a look at his time table told him he had the rest of the day off. Ron was also off, but Hermione had Ancient Runes and was therefore busy the rest of the afternoon. He thought about hanging out with Ron, but then realized he promised Fluffy to spend some time with him, so he promised Ron he would catch up with him at lunch.

He entered his dorm and threw himself onto the bed taking Fluffy onto his chest.

It didn’t take long for Malfoy and Nott to come into the room.

“Oh, so it is your kneazle. I saw him briefly this morning but wasn’t sure where it came from.”

“Hm.”

Harry was still not sure if he wanted to befriend Nott or try to ignore him the rest of the year. He seemed pretty alright, but then again it was only a few months, he could probably cope.

“So, Harry.”

He wondered if he would ever be ready to be called by his first name by any Slytherin, even though Nott probably just wanted to be friendly. It came to his mind a few times that maybe Nott was up to something being so nice to him, but Harry would probably figure that out sooner or later.

“Draco told me you had some encounters with Polyjuice before.”

Harry rolled his eyes. Of course he told him.

"So, how was it. Seriously I'm just curious. I have never used it. Who did you turn into?"

For a second he thought it would be a fun idea to just tell him he turned into Goyle and see their expressions, but it wasn’t time for that yet. Well, hat was the worst thing that could happen if he told them it was a ministry worker? The war was over and probably no one would make a big fuss about it and he kinda wanted to see their faces.

“A ministry worker.”

They both raised their eyebrows staring at each other. That was apparently not what they expected.

“A- a ministry worker? Who?”

“Oh I don’t quite remember his name, but it didn’t matter.”

He did remember the name, but they didn’t have to know that.

“Why, for Merlin’s sake, did you turn into a ministry worker.”

Malfoy looked at him as if he went completely mental now.

“Oh, you know, let me just -casually drop- that we needed a locket from Umbridge, so we knocked out some workers, went into the ministry, interrupted a hearing from the Wizengamot, stole it, and, well, apparated straight out of there.”

They did look pretty gobsmacked, Harry wondered how they would look if he’d ever tell them about second year.

He layed back on his bed as if he just told the most ordinary story.

“Potter, what is wrong with you. You tell me you knocked out some people and sneaked polyjuiced into the ministry, to steal a fucking necklace from Umbridge? If you still wonder why you’re in Slytherin, stop asking. Why did you want that necklace anyway? Probably not ‘cause it would look so pretty on you.”

“Different story, maybe another time. You got your answer, it’s my turn. Why did you sit with Zabini today and let me suffer with him?”

Harry gesticulated at Malfoy.

“Oh, I saw Blaise this morning and thought it would be time to talk to him about what happened the last years, we talked about his sorting that it wasn’t because of us, and he just wanted to have a fresh start, the war apparently got to him a lot more than we thought. He is rather happy, though, he already made friends with Finnigan and Thomas, so, well I just decided to sit next to him in potions.”

“And leave your best mate alone? Why is that?”

Nott just smirked, Malfoy shot his friend a look that would have have pretty much killed him if that was possible.

“Different story. Maybe another time.”

Touchè.

Harry looked at the clock on his bedside, indicating him that he should go to lunch soon, so he got ready and put Fluffy back onto the pillow.

"See you later, bud."

He was already at the door when Nott turned to him.

"So you're sitting with us today?"

"Sorry. I promised Ron I'd come over. You can hope for dinner, though."


	4. Chapter 4

Harry went out of the dorms and strode through the common room. He thought it was still pretty strange to be in a rather dark, green room with just the sun shining through the lakey windows. The temperature was also lower here than up in the Gryffindor tower, but at least the showers weren't freezing, that was a pretty big concern he had until this morning. The bedding in the dorms was thicker, though, than up in the tower, so he doubted he would freeze too much, even in winter when the temperatures would drop, besides that, he loved the extra weight of the blankets, they made him feel a lot more relaxed, if he only knew that before.

Harry made it to the Great Hall and sat down with Ginny and Ron, it seemed like everything was normal when he sat at the Gryffindor table, like nothing weird ever happened and he didn't decide to run into his misery. It wasn't so common that people switched tables during meals, but it happened everz once in a while, maybe if he sat here for the rest of the term he could pretend everything was perfectly normal.

Harry got a plate and looked around the table, Zabini seemed to be talking to Dean and Seamus a few meters down the hall. He wondered if he could ever be that comfortable over at the Slytherin table with Nott and Malfoy.

"'Mione is already gone, she wanted to do some research before she went to Ancient Runes. She didn't even have that subject yet, how can you do research on it?"

Harry shrugged, as he put some Lasagna onto his plate.

"So, you getting used to the Dungeons?", Ginny asked.

Harry sighed. Could he get used to it? It wasn't all that bad, and he was just down there a few hours each day, except for sleeping, so he probably could make himself feel comfortable after a while.

"I must say the dorm has a rather pretty window that goes out directly into the lake. Can get used to that, I suppose. But then Nott came in with only a towel on. Not sure if I can get used to that, man. Why can't he get dressed in the bathrooms, it's cold down there."

Harry grimaced, thinking back to his encounter a few hours ago, trying to not think about how .

"Oh, I bet I could get used to it, he doesn't look all that bad.", she grinned.

"God, can we stop talking about Nott in his underwear, please?"

"No underwear, Ron."

"Gah!"

Ron made a face and took a huge bite from his Lasagna.  
Harry and Ginny just laughed. Harry's still loved her, but the feelings were more sisterly nowadays, and have been for some months now. He was ever so greatful to have her as a friend, though.  
"Nott seems pretty alright. I am not sure if I want to trust him, and I can't get rid of the feeling that he is up to something, but he is nice to me."

"At least you don't think Malfoy is up to new stuff anymore.", Ron muttered.

"Nah, he just ignores me plus the occasional insult, seems pretty normal to me."

He thought maybe after the war, he could have a rather civilized relationship with Malfoy, but it probably got so normal that they're insulting each other at Hogwarts that it might have just grown to a pretty big habit that's hard to get rid of. He thought about the encounter at Diagon two days ago, where they did act rather civil. It must have been the Hogwarts influence.  
He was taking another bite of his Lasagna when Malfoy's odd comment came back to his mind. He wondered how he'd even forgotten that, but it must have been the whole sorting disaster that put other things on his mind.  
He should ask about that the next time Malfoy randomly bombarded him with questions.

-

Harry went back to the common room after dinner. He was out with Ron, spending their afternoon at the lake, wondering if that would be the first year at Hogwarts without any weird trouble. No hidden stones, no freaky diaries, no Voldemort, just a normal school year.  
The common room was rather empty, so he decided to just grab a chair by the fire, hoping no Slytherins would want to sit with him. Fluffy came down from the dorms and cuddled onto his lap, his grey fur shining of the fire.  
It was the first time he had the chance to look around the room in detail. The furniture looked a lot more noble than up in the tower, but the light was also a lot dimmer, and, well, greener. The windows that showed the lake were pitch black at night, but the darkness made it a lot more comfortable than he'd ever thoought it possible.  
He sat there for a while, wondering if he should just try to get into the Gryffindor common room to hang out with his friends, when Nott came in. Harry sighed, when the chair next to him was taken.  
"Hey, Harry. You never sat with us at dinner."  
"I never said I would."  
Nott grinned and stared into the fire.  
"So where is your other half. Did he get lost?" There was always hope, wasn't it.  
"Draco? He wanted to grab something from the libary, so I came back first. Why so interested in him?"  
He raised an eyebrow, still grinning.  
"I just wanted to ask him something. Besides that I thought you two were like some unseperable school girls that follow each other to the bathroom."  
Harry grimaced.  
"That came out wrong. But you know what I mean."  
Nott just sat there for a while, saying nothing, which was rather uncommon for him.  
"You know, I keep getting that feeling that you're up to something. You are so nice to me, but we never talked before yesterday. Why would that be."  
Nott grinned a little wider now, opening his mouth to say something when the door opened and Malfoy came through. There was his chance.  
"Hey, Malfoy."  
Malfoy just looked over to Nott, and went straight ahead past them, carrying around a stack of books from the library.  
"Malfoy, can I talk to you for a second?"  
He answered, but kept on walking.  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"'Cause I don't want to."  
With that he went through the door and left them alone in front of the fire.  
"Well, that went well.", Harry muttered.  
Nott just laughed.  
"He'll come around."  
"You just keep telling me that, maybe one day I'll believe you.", he sighed.  
"What did you want to ask, aynway? Maybe I can help you."  
Harry stared into the flames, wondering if he should tell him. His best friend could probably give him an answer, but would it be an honest one? Would he even give him an answer at all or just tell Malfoy the next time they met that Harry wondered about random encounters in a clothing store? Would he even know? How likely was it that Malfoy told him every word from that encounter back then, it was not important at all. He never thought it was important enough to bring it up to his friends.  
He decided to give it a shot, though.  
"Malfoy and I met at Madam Malkins two days ago. I just needed to get my robes for the school year, and I glamored myself so I wouldn't be recognized, so he might have not even realized it was me, at least at first. Anyway, I stood there waiting for him to be done with the robes, when he suddenly asked me if I went to Hogwarts, too. Like what sort of question is that? We know like every person in this castle, maybe not by name but he should have recognized me at least and not be asking so stupidly. When he went out he even addressed me with my name, so he must have caught on by then who I was. I was pretty confused, until later that night when I realized he used the exact same words the first time we met,when we were still eleven. I don't know if he ever told you about that, but why would he even remember? It just doesn't make any sense."  
Nott just stared at him and grinned, suppressing to lough.  
"Oh he did tell me about that, believe me. I can't help you with that, though. I am on your side Harry, but I am on Draco's side more. He'd kill me if I told you. You should ask him yourself. I doubt he will tell you, but- Oh see, there he goes. Draco!"  
Nott looked over to the dormitory door and waved. Malfoy apparently didn't care much and went straight for the common room door, trying to avoid them.  
"Draco, move your arse over here, or I'll tell Harry why I decided to sit next to Blaise today."  
Malfoy froze on the spot, reluctantly turned around and came over.  
Harry chuckled, maybe Nott was on his side. At least a tiny little bit. Any maybe he wasn't all that bad either, he should give him a chance.  
"Theo. Can I have a word?", Malfoy gnarled.  
Nott just shrugged and went to the other side of the room. Harry eyed them curiously, Nott just stood there, arms crossed, while Malfoy was gesticulating like a mad man.  
After a while they came back and both sat down on chairs next to Harry, Malfoy looked like a five year old who didn't get the ice cream he begged for.  
Nott grinned. Again. Like there was nothing else he was capable of.  
"So, Harry, didn't you have a question for Draco. I'm sure he is thrilled to hear it."  
His grin turned into a chuckle, he looked around the common room and cast a quick silencing charm around the chair area, while Malfoy looked at him in horror.  
Harry looked back and forth between Malfoy and Nott.  
His heart was beating rather fast right now, he wanted to have an answer, but he was afraid to ask, for whatever reason.  
He took a deep breath and went for it.  
"So, why did you ask me if I went to Hogwarts when we met at Madam Malkins the other day. You know it was me, and I know you said the exact same thing when we met there the first time. How do you even remember? Was it some sort of bad pun? It probably was, but it keeps bugging me."  
The horror in Malfoy's face didn't subside.  
"What do you think it was? I just wanted to show you off, it worked pretty well, your face was priceless."  
Malfoy still looked rather distraught and his voice was a little bit too high to keep the panic out, which Harry couldn't quite understand but he just raised and eyebrow in question and let Malfoy believe he was safe. For now.  
Harry took his gaze back to the fire. He could almost forget it was colder down here than he was used to, the fire crackled and it felt rather cozy.  
He wondered if that was what his time in the common room would be like. Him, sitting together with Nott, who talked without any limits, trying to be nice to him while Malfoy was ignoring him. It wasn't like he wanted to not talk to him, the war was over, grudges felt so pointless ever since, but Malfoy propbably wasn't over it yet.  
"Why do you always ignore me?", Harry spluttered before he could stop himself.  
He could feel Malfoy looking at him, his gaze still on the flames.  
"I am not ignoring-"  
"Don't be daft, Malfoy. You pretend I am not there, and then you start yelling if you can't ignore me any longer."  
"We never talked much, why in all heavens should I start now?"  
Harry looked into his eyes. He never realized how grey they were, the fire reflecting itself in them.  
"You know that's not true. We never said a lot of nice things, but we always tried to drive each other up the wall. You don't even do that anymore, you just pretend I am not there. See, I wouldn't have minded much, but it seems like I can't ignore you all that easily anymore, given that your friend here can't get enough of me or whatever and I am stuck in this house, I wish I wasn't. I thought we could be at least decent to each other, like after the trial, when we talked and didn't throw a single insult at each other. I know this isn't all that easy for you, we never really went along and I know how hard it is to lose people, and it certainly can't be easy that your father is still in Azkaban, but-"  
"Don't."  
Malfoy's face changed, Harry couldn't quite grasp the expression.  
"What?"  
"Don't you dare talk about my father." he spat.  
"See, Malfoy, I am sorry about that, I know it's hard, but I hope he will be fine and-"  
Malfoy just stood up a little too fast and ran to the dorms, leaving a confused Harry behind, blinking at the door.  
"Well, I didn't think he would be so offended by that, he knew what his father did, it's not like he would have gotten out of it without punishment, or did he seriously think that?"  
Nott looked at him and bit his lip, shifting a little uncomfortable.  
"Harry. Lucius Malfoy died two months ago."  
Harry's swallowed hard, his eyes stared back at Nott in disbelief. Surely that must be some sort of weird joke, he would have heard about that, wouldn't he?  
"What? Why didn't I- like- What?"  
"It was in the prophet a day after and stayed there like a week. I wonder how you didn't hear about that. First I just thought you made a blunder, but you seriously didn't know, did you?"  
Of course he didn't. He didn't touch a Prophet since May, he was on every freaking front page and just got too fed up with all the gossip, nonsense and his face staring at him every morning. Sure, things like that just kind of spread but he also decided not to leave the house, so there was really no way he could have picked it up somewhere.  
He placed his head onto his knees, pulling them back onto the chair.  
He knew how it felt to lose a father, not just James, but also Remus and Sirius. He didn't know much about the relationship between Malfoy and his father, but it definitely couldn't have been easy on him.  
"Now he can go back to ignoring me. Seriously, it doesn't matter."  
It did matter though. He liked the thought of them sitting here and just talking without any ignorance. He was tired of fighting, but the world just probably didn't fall into place like that.  
"I don't think he is overly fond of ignoring you."  
Harry looked up at him, Nott's brown eyes staring straight back at him.  
"You're speaking in riddles, Nott. You always tell me he comes around, he doesn't like ignoring you, see, I appreciate that you think that, but obviously it doesn't look like you have any clue what you're saying."  
"He doesn't want to go back to insulting you, so he rather doesn't speak at all, that's what I would get out of this. He appreciates what you did for him at the trials, so he feels like he ows you a lot, besides the life debt he already has. Besides that, you probably got him a little with your sudden eh- house changing."  
"He saved my life, too. We're even."  
"That is not how life debts work. Actually saving somebody's sorry arse is different from not being served on a silver plate."  
Harry thought about what Nott had said. Harry didn't want Malfoy to feel like he is owing him anything, he would have saved whoever from that horrible fire. Besides that, he thought it was rather stupid to ignore somebody in fear to be otherwise insulting, what kind of attitude was that? If Malfoy needed to insult Harry once a day to get his kick or feel better or whatever, than that didn't seem like a healthy habit, but by Merlin's sake, this was Malfoy, what on earth did he expect? They had nagged at each eather for years now, it's not like it would be any different from before.  
Harry shook his head.  
"He shouldn't feel like he owes me anything. See, it really seems like I can't ignore you for the whole term, and you seem quite alright. If he doesn't have the sudden urge to befriend Zabini's new buddies, he might as well act like a normal person. If that is even possible, for Merlin's sake. Maybe I should go talk to him."  
Harry got up from the chair and took a step towards the dorm door, the common room was filled with students now, he was so occupied with Malfoy, that he didn't even pay attention to them before.  
"Harry?"  
Harry stopped and turned.  
"Nott?"  
"Oh, come on, call me Theo already."  
Harry sighed. He was tired of arguing.  
"Theo?"  
He smiled and got up, too.  
"Let him be for the night. He'll come around."  
Harry rolled his eyes.  
"Sure, you seemed to know what you're saying earlier, he totally came around. Oh, wait"  
Theo just chuckled and came after him.


End file.
